Covid-19: Arrests, physical attacks of Journalists have exacerbated-IPI

The International Press Institute has expressed displeasure at the spate of attacks on journalists and the decline in press freedom since the outbreak of Covid-19.

In a statement made in Vienna on Friday, the institute said the state of press freedom around the world has worsened with the spread of the COVID-19, as governments both autocratic and democratic are increasingly clamping down on the media.

It noted that within months of spreading across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to journalists and media outlets.

According to the statement, “Arrests, physical attacks and regressive fake news regulations have exacerbated an already difficult environment for the media.

” According to an IPI special report to mark the World Press Freedom Day 2020, in democratic as well as autocratic states the public health crisis has allowed governments to exercise control over the media on the pretext of preventing the spread of disinformation.

“Authoritarian governments with an already poor press freedom record have abused emergency measures to further stifle independent media and criminalize journalism.

“But in democracies, too, efforts to control the public narrative and restrict access to information around the pandemic are on the rise.”

The institute highlighted that from preventing critical media to attend official briefings on COVID-19 to closing down media outlets and instituting surveillance that may have a long term impact on press freedom, governments are using every possible tactic to supress press freedom at a time when free flow of independent news is more essential than ever in this situation in informing the public on vital measures to contain the virus.

” Over the past two and a half months, IPI’s COVID-19 tracker has documented a total of 162 different press freedom violations related to the coronavirus. Almost a third of all violations monitored have involved the arrest, detention or charging of journalists reporting on the pandemic, according to IPI’s data.

“Globally, more than 50 cases of verbal and physical attacks against reporters while covering the coronavirus pandemic have been recorded. More than 27 different cases of censorship have been documented, with a further 25 incidents of disproportionate restrictions on access to information.” It stated.

IPI Executive Director, Barbara Trionfi said, the data collected by IPI illustrate the risk which in some places is already the reality – that states will take advantage of the health crisis to control the media message, in full disregard of the public’s need for independent information.

“In covering the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists across the globe have found themselves confronted not only with the risk of contagion, but also with the threat of arrest, physical assault by security forces or criminal charges due to reporting on the virus. This has created an even more hostile environment for independent media.

“It is crucial that these extraordinary restrictions on media imposed during the crisis do not become normalized and outlive the immediate health crisis, especially when it comes to lack of transparency by governments, lack of access by media to decision-makers and any form of surveillance hindering the press.”

“Meanwhile, pressure on media is only likely to get worse with the impending economic crisis, which is hitting small, independent media hardest”, Trionfi added.

“In many countries, where these outlets are the only source of impartial news, additional economic strains will only deepen government’s control over the press and lead to less checks and balances on their future attacks on the media.”

One of the most apparent trends observed, Trionfi said, was how many governments had abused the pandemic to strengthen their grip over the media through excessive regulations.